An experimental film essay on race and disorder in Britain, filmed in Handsworth and London during the riots of 1985 and incorporating newsreel and archival material.


HANDSWORTH SONGS takes as its point of departure the civil disturbances of September and October 1985 in the Birmingham district of Handsworth and in the urban centres of London. Running throughout Handsworth Songs is the idea that the riots were the outcome of a protracted suppression by British society of black presence.

The film portrays civil disorder as an opening onto a secret history of dissatisfaction that is connected to the national drama of industrial decline. The ‘Songs' of the title do not reference musicality but instead invokes the idea of documentary as a poetic montage of associations familiar from the British documentary cinema of John Grierson and Humphrey Jennings.

Film de John Akomfrah sélectionné pour le Tigritudes 2022, dans la catégorie "Diaspora"

1986, UK, colour, sound, 16mm, 60 mins

Director: John Akomfrah
Production Company: Black Audio Film Collective
Producer/Production Manager: Lina Gopaul
Screenplay: Black Audio Film Collective
Cinematography: Sebastian Shah
Music: Trevor Mathison

Pervais Khan (voice-over); Meera Syal (voice-over); Yvonne Weekes (voice-over); Sachkhand Nanak Dham; Mr. McClean

Cast

voice-over KHAN, Pervais
voice-over SYAL, Meera
voice-over WEEKES, Yvonne
DHAM, Sachkhand Nanak
McCLEAN, Mr.
Soho Road Sikh Temple
Handsworth and Aston Welfare Association
Asian Youth Movement (Birmingham)

Credits

Production Company
Black Audio Film Collective

Producer/Production Manager
GOPAUL, Lina

Screenplay
Black Audio Film Collective

Director of Photography
SHAH, Sebastian

Studio Crew Camera (Photographs)
MATHIESON, John

Studio Crew Camera (British Icons)
GEORGE, Edward

Studio Crew Camera (British Icons)
MATHISON, Trevor

Additional Photography
AKOMFRAH, John
CORNWALL, Roy

Camera Assistant
GEORGE, Edward

Rostrum
HINES, Douglas

Opticals
SMITH, N. Gordon
Opticals Howell Opticals (London)

Supervising Editor
THUMIM, Brand

Editor
LIEBSCHNER, Anna

Video Editor
WILLIAMS, Hugh

Assistant Editor
JOHNSON, Avril
HABER, Rosalind

Studio Crew Sets (Photographs)
MATHISON, Trevor

[Handsworth Photographs]
BURKE, Vanley

[Mural] JANTJES, Gavin
[Mural] JOSEPH, Tom

Music
MATHISON, Trevor

Additional Music
Boys Own Battery
JOHNSTON, Robert

Title Design
MORRISON, Richard

Sound
MATHISON, Trevor

Assistant Sound
JOHNSON, Avril

Dubbing Mixer
HODGES, Peter

Additional Crew (Birmingham)
SHAW, Don
BURGUNDY, Joseph

Production Assistant
JOSEPH, Clare
AUGUISTE, Reece

Director
AKOMFRAH, John

Titles
Plume Design

Publicity
GEORGE, Edward

Publicity Organiser
LAWSON, David

Studio Crew Grip (Photographs)
FIELDING, Glyn

Studio Crew Lighting (Photographs)
CAMPBELL, Dalton

Studio Crew Lighting (British Icons)
AKOMFRAH, John

Studio Crew Props (British Icons)
GOPAUL, Lina